This invention relates to safety windows.
Associated with most conventional windows are various problems or inconveniences the alleviation of which is an object of the present invention.
The outsides of most conventional windows are not easily reached from the inside of a building. As a result, someone desiring to clean such a window must lean outside the window to do so if the window is much above ground level or cannot conveniently be reached by ladder. This method of washing windows is not without hazard. Consequently, many windows either go unwashed, or are washed only infrequently. For high-rise buildings, expensive professional window washers must be hired.
The twice yearly processes of putting in and taking out storm windows and screens is another inconvenience associated with conventional windows.
Additionally, most conventional windows offer little resistance to entry of even minimally determined burglars and vandals.
Furthermore, just as conventional window construction allows easy entry, so also does it provide little protection from falling out of the window. Playing children occasionally fall from upper floor windows. The possibility thereof can be a constant source of worry to parents.
Another problem associated with conventional windows is direct wind drafts. The direct air pathway from outside to inside provided by conventional windows for ventilation is advantageous in many situations where good air flow is desired--for quickly cooling off a room in the summer, for example--but direct drafts are often undesirable. A hospital room would provide one example of an area where drafts should be avoided.
Yet another problem associated with conventional windows is entry of rain. An unexpected storm in the middle of the night, or during a period when a building or residence is left unattended, can result in a good deal of water being deposited where it is not wanted.
These problems are alleviated by the invention disclosed herein.